The Allegory of the Cave

4 Commentsby   |  02.02.11  |  Pre-Renaissance (Part I)

When examining the Plato’s Allegory of the Cave my mind drifted to the possibility of this in relation to belief in God. As we are chained to the inner walls of the cave and first hear of God we are mystified, in a sense, and cannot fully fathom or grasp who or what God really is. We take other people’s opinions and accounts of God as truth and reality, when in fact most of what we initially experience is hear-say and second hand evidence of God’s existence.
Then, when we are set free and can truly gaze on the events at hand for ourselves we begin to develop our own opinions and thoughts about religion. We begin to think and analyze on our own. This is when our true relationship with God begins. The truth may be painful and difficult to grasp at times, but ultimately if we stick it out and discover God on our own we are said to have a more fulfilling relationship with him.
Similarly The Allegory is related to the developmental cycle of a child. We are under the control of our parents and take explanations of reality from them as absolute truth. When we progress through our schooling we are taught to judge and question the world around us. I can remember going off to college during my freshman year, then visiting home again and my mother noticing that I had developed some ideas about the world that definitely did not originate from her. I simply needed to look on the world with my own eyes and see for myself.
The enlightening process was not an easy one, but I am confident that I am a better and more well-adjusted adult because of my experiences.

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4 Comments

  1. Alison
    6:18 pm, 02.02.11

    I love this idea of relating the Cave Allegory to Christianity. I also think it works particularly well in relation to evangelism. Plato speaks of the freed man trying to go back to the cave and tell his friends about the world outside. However, it seems that in his allegory the men in the cave are rather hopeless, and will never understand their friend’s message. I think that although not all the prisoners will hear the message, some must wonder what is going on…and if they can be freed by their friend, they have the potential to go and discover the world in the light. This puts evangelism and our role in it in a different light– why wouldn’t the freed man want to share his discoveries with his friends? He wouldn’t be worried about offending them, or them thinking he was crazy. He would be so desperate to show them how wonderful a freed life can be–and we should be just as excited about sharing the Truth with those who have not experienced it yet.

  2. Rebekah Bynum
    8:13 pm, 02.02.11

    I have often thought about this as well and it is so true. In a way being in the cave reminds me of when I was a child and heard stories about God and could only just barely imagine the magnitude of His power just like all the people in the cave could see are shadows on the wall. But as I experience more about God and my spiritual relationship with Him it is like I am getting out of the cave and experiencing what His love really means.

  3. Terry Osborne
    10:36 pm, 02.02.11

    I like what you had to say about the comparison of the cave and believing in God. It is totally different when someone preaches about what a relationship with God should be and one’s true experience with God themselves. I also agree with you with the comparison with growing up as well. Good stuff bro!

  4. Lindsey Fleming
    11:41 pm, 02.02.11

    I think this also applies to this life and moving on to life in heaven for eternity. C.S. Lewis frames this beautifully in the last book of the Narnia series, saying that the understanding and beauty and love that we think we understand and know are really so much beyond what we could ever imagine. I think as Christians this should give us hope and make us want to strive even more for a continuous walk with God in this world.

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